Improved railway-car coupling



B W, BAYLOR.

Oar Coupling. No. 94,547.v Patented'sept. 7,1869.

WITNESSES.' INVENTOR.

mm MMM. Rwwm Q i #f/mx@ Fm i i momek ibdttx tant,

@anni @time Lette/rs Patent No. 94,547, dated September 7, 1869.

IMPROVED RAILWY-CAR COUPLING.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent-and making part of thesame.

To all whom it 'may concern.:

' Be it known that I, R. W. BAYLOR, of Norfolk, in

` the county of Norfolk, and State ot' Virginia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Gar-Couplings; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exa-ct description oi` thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and tol theletters of reference marked thereon, making part of this specification,in whieh Figure .1 is a top view of a draw-head, with my improvementattached.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view.

Figure 3 is a front view.

Figure 4 is an upper face view of the bottom plate.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the double coupling-link.

Figure 6 is a bottom view of the draw-head.

Figure 7 is a View'of the key.

The nature of 'my invention consists in constructing the draw-head witha movable bottom, so hilwed that when left free, it falls, by its ownweight, from its position parallel with the upper plate to one at anangle thereto.

rlhis bottom is elevated and held in position by means of a rectangularbearing-plate. so connected with a rod or arm that passes up through thedraw head, that the revolving ofthe former shall give to the latter acircular sweep.

By this arrangement I am enabled at pleasure, by simply turning the rod,to bring the bearing-plate in a line with thc-bottom, or to throw thesame in such position that they will each bo entirely free of the other,when the bottom instantly falls.

The bottom plate has a recess on its upper face. In this recess worksthe free end oi' thecoupling-catch or pm.

This catch or pin is pivoted in a suitable bearingon the inner surfaceot' the top plate oi' the draw-head, and at such pointand in such manneras to fall a-nd rest against the forward face of the recess in thebottom plate.

' Thus it will be observed that so longas the bottom plato is held up, aiirm and secure bearing, and one that it cannot passLis atibrded thecatch orpiu, but so soon as the bottom is lpermitted to fall, the pinbeing left perfectly ii'ee, a draught is only required that issuiiicient to more the same, to draw it instantly forward.

Vllile the catch or pin, so long as the bottom is held rin an elevatedposition, cannot be drawn forward beyond its line of bearing, still,owing to the form ot' the recess, its utmost freedom ot' movement in theopposite direction is allowed.

The slightest pressure of the coupling-link will readily elevate andpush the catch or pin back, where Y it is held until thepassztge oi' thehead or end of the link, when the pin will instantly swing back to itsformer position, resting or bearing against the front face of therecess, and securely `fastening.; the link.

By this simple and practical arrangement, one entiro-ly free from allcomplicated mechanism, I am cnabled to accomplish the two chiei` objectsof my invention, viz, to furnish a device that, in coupling orconnecting the cars, is 'purely automatic in its operation. and at thesame time one which enables the brakeman, or other employ, to nnconpleor disconncctthe cars at pleasure, and with as much readiness and easewhen the pin is subjected to a heavy draught, as when the same isentirely removed.

Another feature of my ilwention is found in the method by which the rodor arm, which is connected with the bearing,r that supports the bottomplate oil the draw-head, is worked.`

To the rod is permanently attached a ratchet-wheel, which, in connectionwith a spring-pawl, secures the rod'at the desired points.

On the upper face of tlul ratchet-wheel are tivo short pins or stumps,which furnish bearing-surfaces for the key that moves the rod.

This key also works a bevolled plato thatis secured to the ratchet.

(living tothe form ofthe bevel and the key, the incluent you commence toturn the rod, the. pawl is held freev of the ratchet, and is retained insuch. position until a sufficient revolution ot' the rod is made toinsure thc necessary movement oi' the bearing-plate, and the consequentelevating' or lowerin r of' the bottom plate. i

My invention also consistsin constructing the catch or pin in the forniot' a reversed cross, which is so arranged as to work in the groovcdbottom in such a manner that while it allows the necessary freedom oi'movement to the coupling-link, it atthe same time retains thc link insuch position that it will not fall below the coupling-point.

My invention also consists in so combining a straight and reversed bentlink that it can readily be made to accommodatc itself to an)l cars, nomatter what thedii'- ference ot' their height may be.

To enable others skilled iu theart to make and use my invention, l willnow proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the draw-head,which is constructed ot' any suitable material, andwith the ordinary iiaring;` or bellshaped mouth.

ihe bottom A' of the draw-heini, instead of being constructed in onepiece with top and side plates, as is usual, is an independent piece,and hinged as seen at a..

l t will be observed, by reference to fig. 2, that a This catch or pin Cis pivoted in s p'ortion of the forward end of plate A is cut away. Thiscauses they entire blow, produced by the cars coming together, to bereceiuved by the top and sides of the draw-head, freeing entirely thehinged bottom of all undue strain. v

The plate A is formed with a circular groove or recess, B.

kIn this recess works the freeY end of the falling or adjustablecoupling-catch or pin O.

"uitable bearings, c, arranged in the top plate, and is secured at suchpoint that when it falls and occupies a perpendicular position, it restsand bears against the front face b of the groove B, and beyond whichpoint it cannot pass or be drawn, so long as the bottom plate A' remainsin the position shown in iig. 2. Still, owing to.the form of the grooveB, the utmost freedom of movement in the opposite direction or toward b'is allowed, the slightestpressure against the catch or pin C readilycausing the same. to swing back out of its line of bearing.

Thus it will be observed how easily, by the simple pressure of the linkagainst the catch or pin (l, it can be pushed back, so as to allow ofthe passage of the link, and how impossible it is for the link, after itha-s once passed, to be drawn ont, unless the bottom plate is caused tofall.

The form of the catch or pin is that of a reversed -cross, as is clearlyshown in tig. 3.

The great advantage possessed by this form of catch or pin is found inthe fact that while it allows the link all the necessary play required,still at the same time, the end of the link, when free, is neverpermitted to fall below the coupling-point, which is most important incar-couplings, especially those that are intended to operateautomatically.

The hinged bottom A of the draw-head is held in position by means of abearing-plate, D.

This plate D is constructed ofniet-al, and is rectangular in form. Itworksin and is ehiey supported by a metallic bracket, 1)', which issecured to thel under surface ot'- one of the sides of the draw-head A.

This plate D is also, at (l, permanently welded or otherwise iirml)secured to a metallic rod or arm, E.

This rodhl passes up through the draw-head, and is held by a nut, d'.

This nut d can from time to time be tightened, and the looscness of theplate D, caused by wear, can be taken up.

lo this rod E is permanently att-ached a ratchetwheel, E. y

This ratcliet E' is retained and held in proper position by means of aspring-pawl, c.

To this pawl e is secured a bevelled plate, e'.

On the upper face of the ratchet-wheel .Il are permanently secured twostumps or bearing-pins, ff'.

F is the key, its form being clearly shown in jig. 7.

G is the combined coupling-link, and consists of two links, G1 G2,iirmly welded together. The form of this combined link is clearly shownin iig.

The operation is as follows:

The normal position of the draw-head A and the entire mechanism isclearly shown in iig. 2. The coupling-link G, on entering thedraw-heini, pushes hack the catch or pin G, and retains the same in aslightly elevated angular position, until the curved end .of the link Gpasses the catch C. when the latter instautly falls in the opening ofthe link, and swings to its former position, having again its hea-ringragainst the face b ofthe recess B.

The cars are now securely coupled, and no amount of draught on the linkG will free the same, so long as the plate D retains the bottom A oftheV draw-head A in position. But so soon as the plate D is turned, thebottom A', having no longer any support, immediately falls, and the carsare instantly uncoupled.

This plate D is worked in the following manner:

The key F is placed on the head of the arm or rod E, and its dangedblade 11" is caused to bear'against the pin j. The end of the blade F'entering the bevel of the plate e' at x, forces the pawl e away from theratchet l. The key'li can then easily turn the rod E, as, owing to theform of the bevel, the pawl c cannot come in cont-act with the ratchetE' until the point x on the bevel-plate e' is reached, when the pawl cfalls against one of the teeth of the ratchet E', and its furtherprogress, well as that of the rod E, is instantly arrested. But therevolution thus made by the rod E is exactly what is required to movethe plate D from under the bott-om A out' to the side of the draw-head,and nearly at right angles thereto.

It will be observed that this circular .sweep of' the plate D entirelyfreesthe bottom A of all support, and it will, consequently, fall byitsown weight down to point that will entirely free the end of the catch C,and permit the link G, without the slightest' obstruction, to be drawnout.

The draught on the pin C having nothing to do with the movement of theplate- D, it will readily be observed how easilyv it is to disconnect oruucouple the cars, no matter what the degree of V(.lraughtat the timemay be. n

To elevate the bottom A', you have simply tov apply the key F as before,and turn the same in the opposite direction, bearing against the pin7"insteadof the pin f. y

The'compound coupling G allows cars of different heights to be coupled,the links not used passing under and above. the draw-head, as the casemay be.

Having thus fully described my invention,

That I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ot'the United States, is-.

1. The draw-head A, when the same is provided with a hinged bottom, A',plate D, and rod E, when the whole is so combined and arranged as tooperate substantially as described.

2. The bottom A', having a recess, B, and pivoted catch or pin C, whenthe same are so formed, combined, and arranged that they -will operatesubstan- 'tiantially as described, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The rod E, ratchet E', having pins f f', springpawl c, and bevelledplate c', when the same are so combined and arranged that theycan beoperated by a key, F, substantiallyas described.

4. The ycompound link G, when the same is constructed substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my nameto this specitiation, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

it. XV. BAYLOR.

Witnesses:

EDWIN (latins, J. E. F. HomrnAn.

